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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Cheddar Chicken Chowder...

With all of the crazy up and down fiasco that has been happening with the temperatures outside this odd winter season, we've both been looking for dinners that fit into the comfort food (at least to us) category. We've done several hearty pasta recipes and repeat casseroles, but one area we've been neglecting is soup! To rectify that, we decided tonight's dinner would be this Cheddar Chicken Chowder.

I do have to say starting off, it's hard to go wrong when the directions begin by crisping up three slices of bacon! And you won't waste all the zesty drippings from the bacon either, most of the fat left behind is used to start cooking the pound of chopped (keep it bite-sized) chicken, onions, red bell pepper and a few cloves of minced garlic. As soon as the vegetables begin to soften, diced potatoes and several cups of broth hop into the mix to simmer.

When the potatoes had become tender in the bubbling base, corn kernels (we used frozen that we had in the freezer from last year's fresh haul) were stirred in, along with a couple cups of milk, which was first combined with flour to tighten up the liquids. Brought back up to a simmer and allowed to thicken, to give this chowder its cheesy edge, a full cup of shredded cheddar (the sharper, the better - at least for us!) was sprinkled over the pot and stirred in, off heat, to blend in.

As always, be sure to taste this before dishing it out - a re-seasoning with salt and an ample dose of fresh ground black pepper was definitely in order here. This was pure comfort in a hand held bowl - the chowder was creamy and satisfying, yet still quite light as there was a larger ratio of broth to milk. All the added bits gave the soup a lovely contrast in textures - the tender chicken, chunky bits of soft potatoes (and by using a waxy potato, it won't dissolve in the soup - the cubes held their shape well!) and especially the sweet nibbly bits of corn. This is one top-notch recipe that will surely be making the rounds here often!